The Retail Doctor

What The Retail Doctor does

The Retail Doctor is a founder-owned consulting and training firm founded in 1994 by Bob Phibbs, focused on helping brick-and-mortar retailers improve sales performance and customer experience. The company operates as a solo practice with Bob Phibbs serving as CEO and primary brand face, monetizing a portfolio of services that include keynote speaking, in-person sales training, retail consulting and business makeovers, and the SalesRX online training platform. The firm is private, unfunded, and operates in the United States with a stated global footprint via its content distribution and speaking engagements.

The firm's core technology is SalesRX, an interactive, customizable, on-demand online retail sales training platform featuring 70 bite-sized lessons designed to be completed in approximately 10 minutes per week. SalesRX is delivered through a technology partnership with Lightspeed VT, which provides the underlying LMS and login infrastructure. Supporting products include two books, "The Retail Doctor's Guide to Growing Your Business" (Wiley) at $24.95 for an autographed copy and "69 Proven Ways To Build Your Retail Store Sales" at $14.95, plus the RetailRX weekly newsletter reaching over 100,000 retail professionals. There is no proprietary AI/ML or API surface; the platform relies on third-party delivery and content marketing.

The revenue model is diversified across professional services (project-based speaking, in-person training, consulting retainers acquired via consultative discovery calls) and subscription-based self-serve training (SalesRX, with pricing on inquiry). The customer base spans enterprise brands (Bernina, Lego, Brother, Paul Mitchell, Yamaha, Seiko) and SMB retailers (e.g., Naples Soap Company), with vertical coverage across general retail, photography, sewing, toys, beauty, musical instruments, and watches. Demand is generated primarily through Bob Phibbs' personal brand, content marketing (blog, newsletter, podcast, YouTube), speaking appearances at industry convenes (NRF, Shopify, World Retail Forum), and earned media coverage (ABC, MSNBC, Fox News, PBS, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur).

Name

The Retail Doctor

Legal name

Bob Phibbs The Retail Doctor

Website

https://retaildoc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Retail Doctor is a founder-owned consulting and training firm, founded in 1994 by Bob Phibbs, that helps brick-and-mortar retailers improve sales performance through keynote speaking, in-person training, retail consulting, and the SalesRX online learning platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Retail Consulting and Sales Training

NAICS

Book Retailers and News Dealers (459210)

SIC

Retail-Catalog & Mail-Order Houses (5961)

akta.pro primary industry

General Bookstores (New Books) (CRALAAAA)

Keywords

• Retail consulting services
• Sales training programs
• Keynote speaking services
• Customer experience training
• Retail strategy advisory

Headquarters

HQ city

West Coxsackie

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Speaking/Keynote Engagements: Revenue from keynote speeches at conferences, conventions, and corporate events. Dynamic speaking engagements where Bob Phibbs energizes audiences with customer-centric approaches and actionable retail insights.
2. In-Person Sales Training: Direct engagement bringing Bob's market-tested strategies and tools to client stores for authentic training experiences, delivered on-site at retail locations.
3. Online Training (SalesRX): Subscription-based or per-user access to the SalesRX online retail training platform, providing interactive training modules that can be assigned to store associates and managers.
4. Consulting & Business Makeovers: Strategic consulting engagements for retail operations streamlining, business makeovers, and targeted strategies to boost sales and customer experiences. Includes work for The Los Angeles Times business makeovers.
5. Book Sales: Sale of retail books and guides including 'The Retail Doctor's Guide to Growing Your Business' (autographed copy at $24.95) and '69 Proven Ways To Build Your Retail Store Sales' ($14.95).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

The Retail Doctor is a retail consulting and training firm that sells advisory services, keynote speeches, and the proprietary SalesRX online training platform to brick-and-mortar retailers. The firm helps retailers improve customer experience, train front-line sales associates, and grow revenue, supplemented by book sales and a weekly newsletter reaching over 100,000 retail professionals.

Product overview

The Retail Doctor is a single-brand consulting and training firm offering a portfolio of related services centered on Bob Phibbs' retail expertise. The core offerings consist of SalesRX (an online retail sales training platform with bite-sized lessons), In-Person Sales Training (on-site training delivery), Keynotes & Speeches (motivational speaking engagements), and Consulting & Business Makeovers (strategic advisory services). Supporting products include the 'The Retail Doctor's Guide To Growing Your Business' book and the '69 Proven Ways To Build Your Retail Store Sales' digital guide available through the online shop, plus a weekly newsletter. All offerings share the unified theme of improving brick-and-mortar retail performance through customer-centric approaches and sales training.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SalesRX: Interactive, customizable, on-demand online retail sales training platform offered by The Retail Doctor. Features 70 bite-sized lessons designed for front-line employees.

Products and services

• SalesRX Online Retail Sales Training Interactive, customizable, on-demand online retail sales training platform with 70 bite-sized lessons delivered in approximately 10 minutes per week, designed to train managers and associates and to drive team accountability for customer experience.
• In-Person Sales Training On-site retail sales training service where Bob Phibbs brings market-tested strategies and tools directly to client stores for authentic engagement with the sales team.
• Keynotes & Speeches Dynamic keynote speaking engagements featuring Bob Phibbs as a customer-centric speaker who energizes audiences with actionable insights and practical wisdom for brick-and-mortar retail.
• Consulting & Business Makeovers Retail consulting service offering business makeovers and targeted strategies to streamline retail operations, boost sales, and improve customer experiences, including published makeovers with The Los Angeles Times.
• The Retail Doctor's Guide to Growing Your Business (Book) Autographed book by Bob Phibbs (published by Wiley) offering comprehensive guidance on growing a retail business, sold at $24.95 per copy.
• 69 Proven Ways To Build Your Retail Store Sales (Book) Print guide under 50 pages by Bob Phibbs providing tips and strategies for building retail sales through teamwork and customer service, compatible with iBooks and Kindle, priced at $14.95.

Quantifiable outcome

• 20-50% revenue increase within six months for clients implementing The Retail Doctor methodology
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• American ExpressminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBob Phibbs serves as an American Express merchant advisor, providing expertise on small business and retail issues to American Express and their merchant community.
• IBMminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBob Phibbs serves as an IBM retail futurist, providing thought leadership on retail trends, technology, and future directions for the retail industry.
• RetailWire BrainTrustminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBob Phibbs is a RetailWire BrainTrust partner, participating in online retail industry discussions and contributing expertise to the BrainTrust panel of retail experts.
• Lightspeed VTcoreTechnology or IntegrationThe SalesRX online training platform is delivered through Lightspeed VT's virtual training technology platform. Clients log in through retaildoctorvt.lightspeedvt.com to access the training content.
• The Los Angeles TimesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBob Phibbs performs business makeovers featured in The Los Angeles Times, providing visibility and credibility through the newspaper's business coverage.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Skillsoft: Large-scale corporate learning platform offering online training courses across business, sales, and leadership topics. Comparable as a broad incumbent in the online sales training space where SalesRX also competes.
• Sandler Training: Global sales training franchise offering a structured methodology for sales professionals across industries. Comparable to The Retail Doctor's in-person training and consulting business model, but at significantly larger scale and broader (non-retail-specific) focus.
• LinkedIn Learning: Mass-market online learning platform with sales, customer service, and retail-relevant course catalogs. Comparable as an incumbent self-serve alternative to the SalesRX subscription for price-sensitive retail training buyers.
• Dale Carnegie Training: Established global training company offering sales, leadership, and customer service courses. Comparable to The Retail Doctor's training and customer-excellence content but operating as a large-scale incumbent franchise rather than a solo practice.
• Ziglar (Zig Ziglar legacy): Sales and leadership training brand built around motivational speaking and personal development content. Comparable as a founder-brand-driven sales training company with multiple digital and live offerings.

Direct peers

• Wilson Learning: Sales and leadership development company delivering customized training programs to enterprise clients globally. Comparable in offering structured sales methodology content for multi-location retail and B2B sales organizations.
• Sales Gravy (Jeb Blount): Sales training and consulting brand built around founder Jeb Blount, offering keynote speaking, online training, books, and a podcast. Closely parallels The Retail Doctor's personal-brand-led model with multiple content-driven revenue streams.
• The Brooks Group: B2B sales training and consulting firm offering customized sales programs, keynote speakers, and online learning. Comparable to The Retail Doctor's enterprise-focused training engagements and structured sales methodology offerings.
• Tom Hopkins International: Long-standing sales training and motivational speaking business centered on founder Tom Hopkins. Mirrors The Retail Doctor's combination of authored books, keynote speaking, and sales methodology training for professional audiences.

Others

• Retail TouchPoints: Retail industry media and content platform publishing news, research, and educational content for retail executives. Comparable as a content-marketing-driven authority channel targeting the same brick-and-mortar retail audience.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCwVXWIlRuw0SlMHhAyfQu0A
• Xx.com/theretaildoctor
• Facebookfacebook.com/theretaildoctor
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/1011096

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Retail Doctor